After reaching guiding the Sudanese giants into the group phase last season, Congolese tactician Florent Ibenge has repeated the feat with Al Hilal SC after edging Angolan side Premeiro de Agosto 2-1 in the second-leg played in El Jadida, Morocco.
Ibenge and Hilal were in search of victory on Sunday to stand a chance of progressing into the group stage against De Agosto after the two sides battled to a barren draw in the first-leg played in Angola two weeks ago.
Ibenge’s side did not disappoint as first-half goals by Yasser Muzammil in the 5th minute and captain Mohamed Abdelrahman Yousif Yagoub in the 35th minute proved sufficient for the The Blue Wave to retain their place among the continent’s best 16 clubs.
De Agosto pulled one back in the 85th minute Agostinho Matias but the goal would go down as a consolation for the Angolans who exited the competition.
Ibenge has one continental title in the Confederation Cup which he won in the 2021/22 season with RS Berkane of Morocco and will now look to challenge for with Hilal.
The French-born gaffer came close to winning the Champions League 2014 with Kinshasa giants AS Vita Club who finished as runner ups to Algerian side ES Setif.
